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Newsletter - January 2007
Dear friends of Yellow Bike,
We hope that everyone had a safe and restful holiday this year. We closed the shop for a couple weeks and enjoyed time with our friends and families. Now we're back to a busy shop schedule and we're working harder than ever at securing a new home for Yellow Bike and planning upcoming events. Read below for all the current news.
Thanks again for the interest!
-The Yellow Bike Project
SATELLITE SHOP HUMAN POWERED MOVE AND GRAND OPENING - On Saturday January 20 we will be moving our Wheatsville Satellite shop to its new Treasure City location ( view map). To get us ready for the imposing task of moving our 4,500 sq ft main shop later this year, we have decided to move the 300 sq ft satellite shop entirely by human power. We will be moving every bike, bike part, tool, and work stand in the shop.
Some of you might wonder why we would torture ourselves with a feat like this when several of us own trucks that would make the task much easier. The answer is that 1) we love bikes: riding bikes, utilizing bikes, promoting bikes... and 2) we plan on making a great time of it. So meet us at Wheatsville on January 20th at noon with your bicycle, tricycle, bike trailer, panniers, backpacks, bungie cords, or anything else you think might help out.
SPACE HUNT AND FUNDRAISING UPDATE - During the last few months we've been exploring options for securing a permanent home for the Yellow Bike Project (YBP), as our current main workshop is scheduled for demolition in late 2007. YBP is committed to maintaining a strong presence in Austin for years to come and we are approaching this challenge from several directions. We are seeking private contributions through our capital campaign, aid from the city, and grant money towards the acquisition of a new space.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - At the end of November we announced a capital goal of $300,000 toward securing a permanent space comparable to the one we now utilize. Since our announcement our campaign has gone well and we have received many significant contributions from individuals. We are accepting donations in person during our shop hours, through the mail (2013 E. 51st St, 78723), and via our PayPal account on our website ( www.austinyellowbike.org).
TALKS WITH THE CITY - We have made several presentations to the Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) to make a case for the City's continued support for Yellow Bike. The UTC makes recommendations pertaining to urban transportation to the City Council. The UTC has recommended that the City assist us, but no particular course of action has been established.
GRANT MONEY - We are in the process of seeking grants from community-minded foundations as a supplemental approach to meeting our campaign goal. Our organization is eligible for significant grant funds due to the breadth of our work in the areas of education, healthy lifestyle, transportation, volunteerism, and youth works. We will give updates as these efforts come to fruition.
SCHEDULED YELLOW BIKE RELEASES - For several years now we have been trying to dispel the common misconception that all we do at YBP is make Yellow Bikes (it is easy to see how people might get that idea). For much of the last ten years, we have put the bulk of our energy into education efforts (serving over 100 people per week by teaching them bike repair and maintenance in our community shops open 6 days per week) and programs aimed at getting bikes to kids ( Bikes to Schools Program - After School Programs) or those in need (Katrina relief). See our projects page for information on these projects.
Nowadays, Yellow Bikes are a by-product of our education efforts more than a main focus. We have an excess of donated bikes in poor condition and many volunteers who are eager to learn to repair and maintain bikes. Yellow Bikes are a great way to turn older and low quality bikes into teaching tools. And once Yellow Bikes hit the streets they can serve those in need of transportation and spark an interest in people who haven't ridden a bike in years. Yellow Bikes are clearly labelled as free community bikes which are free to ride but not to keep. However, even when they're adopted by individuals, repainted or locked up, they're still helping us achieve our goal of getting more Austinites riding.
With all this in mind, we've decided to adopt a regular release schedule to let people know when and where to look for Yellow Bikes. We may release bikes at other times as we see fit, but come out to grab a ride immediately after these events:
Annual Release Schedule
May: Yellow Bike birthday sometime during Bike Month in May
September: Back to School release near campus on Labor Day weekend
September: ACL release on the 1st day of the music festival
December 31st: First Night - Austin's New Years celebration
SCHEDULE - Our only hours this month are at the 51st street shop since we are in the process of moving the Wheatsville satellite shop to the new Treasure City Location. Grand Opening of the Treasure City shop will be in February. Hours for the new shop will be posted on the website early in February.
| Shop |
Mon |
Tues** |
Weds |
Thurs |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Main Shop:
2013 E. 51st St. |
6-10 pm |
6-10 pm*
|
6-10 pm |
6-10 pm |
6-10 pm |
10am-2pm |
|
Treasure City Shop:
1720 East 12th St. |
GRAND OPENING FEBRUARY 1ST |
Wheatsville Shop:
3101 Guadalupe |
PERMANENTLY CLOSED AS OF JANUARY 1ST 2007 |
1ST ANNUAL COORDINATOR RETREAT - 1st, 1st, 1st... Seems like everything we are doing these days is a first, but here it is. The Yellow Bike Coordinators took a bike/camping trip out to Bastrop state park from the 5-7th of January. It was a good time to get on a bike and relax outside of all the buzz that we have been working to create back at the shop. Over camp fires we discussed our long term visions for the project. Like so many of our "firsts" we hope this will also become an annual Yellow Bike tradition for years to come. |
